Abstract
Sericin, a textile waste, can be used for antioxidant and skin-whitening purposes. The hydrothermal method of extracting sericin is more eco-friendly than are chemical and enzymatic methods. In this study, silk cocoons were cut into pieces and then subjected to hydrothermal extraction at three temperatures (160, 200, and 220 °C) to obtain sericin extracts (Sericin160, Sericin200, and Sericin220, respectively). Antioxidant activity and tyrosinase inhibition were measured to determine the extracts’ effectiveness. Sericin220 was the strongest antioxidant, with total phenol content, total flavonoid content, and ferric reducing power of 62.19 ± 0.04 mg gallic acid equivalents/g dry weight, 0.07 ± 0.01 mg quercetin equivalent/g dry weight, and 181.49 ± 0.024 mg vitamin C equivalent/g dry weight, respectively. The half-maximal inhibitory concentrations for DPPH and ABTS free-radical scavenging ability were 6.41 ± 0.05 and 0.79 ± 0.37 mg/mL, respectively. Sericin220 also exhibited the highest tyrosinase inhibition activity (70.82 ± 4.1 mg vitamin C equivalent/g), indicating its whitening potential.
Highlights
Silk cocoons are made of a natural polymer protein material [1]
The extraction yield was defined as the weight ratio of the dried extract to the initial silk cocoons [13]
Silk cocoons play a key role in the textile industry
Summary
Silk cocoons are made of a natural polymer protein material [1]. The primary component of a silk cocoon is fibroin, and the outside of a silk cocoon is covered by four layers of sericin with different molecular weights [2]. Sericin constitutes 25 to 30% of silk cocoons [2]. Degumming is usually necessary to source silk from cocoons in the textile industry [3]. The removal of sericin can improve the sheen, softness, smoothness, whiteness, and dyeability of fibers obtained from silk cocoons [4]. The removed sericin solution is often an unused byproduct of the textile industry [5]. Sericin is a promising biological material because of its antioxidant capacity [7,8,9,10], moisturizing capacity [3], corrosion resistance [11], antibacterial activity [10,12], and protection against ultraviolet radiation [10,12]
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